Djeserkare Amenhotep I (d. 1506 BC or 1504 BC) was the second Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He inherited the kingdom formed by the military conquests of his father, and maintained dominance over Nubia and the Delta, however probably did not attempt to keep power in Syrio-Palestine. He continued to rebuild temples in upper Egypt, and revolutionized mortuary complex design by separating his tomb from his mortuary temple, setting a trend which would persist throughout the entire New Kingdom. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC or 1525 to 1504 BC.[1]

Contents

Family

Amenhotep I was the son of Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari. His elder brother, the crown prince Ahmose Sapair, preceded him in death, thus clearing the way for his ascension to the throne.[2] Amenhotep probably came to power while he was still young himself, and his mother appears to have been regent for him for at least a short time.[3] This is evidenced because both he and his mother are credited with opening a worker village at the site of Deir el-Medina.[4] Amenhotep took for his Great Royal WifeAhmose-Meritamon, his sister.[5] Amenemhat, however, died while still very young, and with no living heirs, Amenhotep was succeeded by his military commander Thutmose I, whom he married to his sister, or possibly daughter, Aahmes.[6]

Dates and Length of Reign

In the ninth year of Amenhotep I, a Heliacal Rise of Sothis was observed on the ninth day of the third month of summer.[7] Modern astronomers have calculated that, if the observation was made from Memphis or Heliopolis, such an observation could only have been made on that day in 1537 BC. If the observation was made in Thebes, it could only have taken place in 1517.[8] The latter is usually accepted as correct, and Amenhotep I is given a reign beginning in 1526,[9] although the possibility of 1546 is not entirely dismissed.Manetho's Epitome states that Amenhotep I ruled Egypt for 20 Years and 7 Months or 21 Years, depending on the source.[10] While Amenhotep I's highest attested official date is only his Year 10, Manetho's data is confirmed by information from a passage in the tomb autobiography of a Magician named Amenemhet. This individual explicitly states that he served under Amenhotep I for 21 Years.[11][12]Thus, in the high chronology, Amenhotep I is given a reign from 1546 to 1526 BC and, in the low chronology, from 1526 to 1506 BC or 1525 to 1504 BC. hi [;

Foreign Policy

Amenhotep I's Horus and Two Ladies names, "Bull who conquers the lands" and "He who inspires great terror," are generally interpreted to mean that Amenhotep I intended upon dominating the surrounding nations.[13] Two tomb texts indicate that he led campaigns into Nubia. According to the tomb texts of Ahmose, son of Ebana, Amenhotep later sought to expand Egypt's border southward into Nubia and he led an invasion force which defeated the Nubian army.[14] The tomb biography of Ahmose Pen Nekhbet says he also fought in a campaign in Kush,[15] however it is quite possible that it refers to the same campaign as Ahmose, son of Ebana.[16] Amenhotep built a temple at Saï, showing that he had established Egyptian settlements almost as far as the third cataract.[17]

A single reference in the tomb of Ahmose Pen Nekhbet indicates another campaign in Iamu in the land of Kehek.[18] Unfortunatly, the location of Kehek is unknown. It was long believed that Kehek was a reference to the Libyan tribe Qeheq, and thus it was postulated that invaders from Lybia took advantage of the death of Ahmose to move into the western Nile Delta.[19] Unfortunatly for this theory, the Qeheq people only appeared in later times, are Kehek's identity remains unknown. Nubia is a possibility, since Amenhotep did campaign there, and the western desert and the oases have also been suggested, since these seem to have fallen under Egyptian control once again.[18]

Egypt had lost the western desert and the oases during the second intermediate period, and during the revolt against the Hyksos, Kamose felt it necesarry to garrison them.[20] It is uncertain when they were fully retaken, but on one stele, the title "Prince-Governor of the oases" was used,[21] which means that Amenhotep's reign forms the terminus ante quem for the return of Egyptian rule.[20]

There are no recorded campaigns in Syrio-Palestine during Amenhotep I's reign, however there is a curious record on the Tombos Stela of Thutmose I, his successor, which says that when Thutmose led a campaign into Asia all the way to the Euphrates, he found no one who fought against him.[22] If Thutmose did not lead a campaign which has not been recorded into Asia before this recorded one, it would mean that the preceding pharaoh would have had to pacifiy Syria instead,[23] which would indicate a possible Asiatic campaign of Amenhotep I. Two references to the levant potentially written during his reign might be contemporary witnesses to such a campaign. One of the candidates for Amenhotep's tomb contains a reference to Qedmi, which is somewhere in Canaan or the Transjordan, and Amenemhet's tomb contains a hostile reference to Mitanni.[24] However, neither of these references necesarrily refer to campaigning, nor do they even necesarrily date to Amenhotep's reign. The location of Amenhotep's tomb is not certain, and Amenemhet lived to serve under multiple kings who are known to have attacked mitanni.[24] Records from Amenhotep's reign are simply altogether too scant and too vague to reach a conclusion about any Syrian campaign.

Cultural and Intellectual Developments

Stele showing Amenhotep I with his wife

Due to the fact that almost all sculptures of Amenhotep I are part of his posthumous funerary cult, it is impossible to tell exactly how the arts developed during his reign.[25] However, during this period a prolific amount of literature was created or edited into its final form. During this period, the Book of What is in the Underworld, the funerary texts used in the New Kingdom, is believed to have come into its final form.[26] The Ebers papyrus, which is the main source for information on ancient Egyptian medicine, also dates to this time. Also on this papyrus is the mention of the Heliacal rise of Sothis by which the early New Kingdom chronology is usually calculated.[27] It was also in this time that the first water clock was invented, although the oldest surviving waterclock dates to the reign of Amenhotep III.[28]

Building Projects

Amenhotep commissioned the architect Ineni to expand the Temple of Karnak.[29] Ineni's tomb biography indicates that he created a 20 cubit gate of limestone on the south side of Karnak.[30] He constructed a Sacred Barque of Amun out of alabaster and a copy of the White Chapel of Senusret III, however they were disassembled by Amenhotep III to fill his third pylon.[31] It is also possible that the eighth pylon, which is usually attributed to Hatshepsut, was simply userped by her and that Amenhotep was its original constructor (though it could also have been Thutmose I).[32] Karnak also contains structures which were apparently built for his Heb-sed Festival, but he died before he could use them.[33] At Deir el-Bahri, he constructed a mudbrick chapel to Hathor[34], and he also built a temple at Saï.[35] He also built structures in Upper Egypt at Elephantine, Kom Ombo, Abydos, and the Temple of Nekhbet, but did not build anything in Lower Egypt, like his father.[36]

Mortuary Complex

Amenhotep I was the first king of Egypt to separate his mortuary temple from his tomb, probably to keep tomb robbers from finding his tomb as easily. He built a mudbrick mortuary temple at the north end of Deir el-Bahri, however it and the shrine to hathor which he built there were totally demolished when Hatshepsut built her mortuary temple at the site.[37]
The location of Amenhotep's tomb is as of yet unidentified. The tomb was known to be intact during the reign of Ramesses IX, but its location was not disclosed.[38] There are two possible sites for the location of Amenhotep I's undiscovered tomb, one high up in the Valley of the Kings, KV39 and the other at Dra' Abu el-Naga', ANB.[39] Tomb ANB is considered the more likely possibility, because it objects bearing his name and the names of some family members.[40] Excavation at KV 39 has indicated that instead it was used instead as a previos storage area for the Deir el-Bahri cache[41] and Dra' Abu el-Naga'ANB is considered the more probable location.[42][43]

Mummy

Amenhotep I's body was found in the Deir el-BahriCache above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut[44] and is now in the Egyptian Museum. His mummy had apparently not been looted by the 21st dynasty, and the priests who moved the mummy took cares to keep the Cartonnage intact. Because of that exquisite face mask, the mummy is the only royal mummy which has not been unwrapped and examined by modern Egyptologists.[45]